>> welcome, everyone, to this launch of the public service announcement on behalf of the california grand jury's association. i'd like to thank all of you for being here today. being in the presence of such a political [speaker not understood], reminds me of a story a good friend of mine told me about meeting president george h.w. bush. he was in washington meeting with willard e. mills in arkansas at the time mr. mills was the chair of the house ways and means committee, probably one of the most powerful and influential people in washington. upon being introduced to the president, my friend was struck speechless. he just was stammering and stuttering. at which point the president put his hand on his shoulder and said, it's okay, dan, i

always get nervous around him, too. [laughter] >> it's a special honor for me to be here today. i'd like to introduce our special guest, lieutenant government gavin newsome. it (applause) at the thank you. >> also represent state mark malone's office tom ammiano. (applause) * >> all will return momentarily, i'm sure. paul henderson, representing mayor ed lee's office. [laughter] >> and to my right, i have the open house, our state association vice president and i'm sure other names, past president san francisco chapter. we have lots of our membership

here including a couple of board members, kerry greenberg from fresno. [speaker not understood] is here. we have two representatives from san mateo county, barbara arieta and mike miller. i know people. at this time i'd like to say a few words about the california grand jurors association. it's an all volunteer group, 501(c) (3) dedicated to promoting the participation in the grand jury system, qualifies applicants to be grand jurors, bidthv awareness so we have consumers of the grand jury's product, report. at this point i'd like to turn it over for some lengthy introductions. >> thank you. thank you, keith. welcome, everybody.

we're glad to see so many friendly faces. as president of the chapter in san francisco now for 3-1/2 years and have been really proud of our board who has done so much great work. when i call your name, if you could just stand and say hi. leslie, vice president, and she has been very instrumental in publishing the gazette which i believe that you have picked up. if you haven't, over here by the entrance, there are copies for you to see. the gazette summarizes the previous jury's work as well as explains what the jury is all about. and how you can apply to be a juror. and this is our fourth issue. so, thank you for your hard work. julian hansen is secretary and she's my right arm, my left arm, she's there for me for whenever i need anything. and i really appreciate all the

work you've done also to keep the chapter together and make it a viable entity. ken mali in the back there, the immediate chair and was instrumental in working with lieutenant governor in making this public service announcement which i'm really proud to say i think will give a real shot in the arm to the association as well as to jurors and the jury in general going forward. karen cansino, very instrumental in the distribution of our gazette, we're putting the gazette -- it was in the examiner two weeks ago. 130,000 copies distributed around the city. so, hopefully it fell in the hands of 130,000 people. and we are also distributing in all the libraries around the city. and while in speaking

engagements, we talk about the civil grand jury. it is an excellent outreach item for us. we also have hal smith who is on the board [speaker not understood], and our current foreperson, mark [speaker not understood]. would you like to say anything about your jury service? >> well, i'm very grateful, one, to be selected. two, to have an incredible group of jurors to work with, representative of all aspects of san francisco communities and educational background. and it's been incredible to view what the city has to offer in a really intimate way. and we look forward to carrying on a rich tradition of following up with past reports, doing past juries proud, and we look forward to putting out some good reports. >> thank you. we also have, and i'm not going

to call you out because i don't want anybody to [speaker not understood] we have several current jurors here and a number of former jurors here also. as kate said, the california jurors is comprised of [speaker not understood]. at the chapter here, we very much [speaker not understood] with the courts in recruiting and publicizing what the grand jury is all about. most people you talk to don't know what the civil grand jury is. they think criminal grand jury, barry bonds, but they don't know what the civil grand jury is about. we try to get the word out. because not only do we want people to serve on the grand jury, but i think it's important for people to know what the grand jury is all about. we are the watchdog of the citizens. this is our chance to participate in democracy. to investigate how our taxpayer dollars are being spent. and we need people to do those investigations, but we also need people to be aware of these investigations and the

reports that come out. [speaker not understood] and potentially respond. you know, something they find very dear to their heart, they can call their newspaper and say, hey, i read this grand jury report. what are you going to do about it? or they can call the entity that is being investigating and ask, you know, what are you going to do about following up this list? so, it is very important for people to know about the civil grand jury. so, with that, i also want to say we train the juries. a lot of people say, actors coming out of the public, what do they know? at the state level they train for 2, 2-1/2 days about investigating, entering viewing, writing reports, what they can and cannot do according to the penal code. and we also train them at the local level about the city government and a little bit more about writing reports and what is expected of them here at the city level.

so, they're not amateurs coming in. they are well trained and informed about what their duties are and what they can and cannot do. so, thank you. >> at this time i'd like to show you the product, psa. [laughter] >> california founders understood the importance of citizen oversight of local government. our writing into the state constitution requirement that each county will convene a civil grand jury with the express purpose of investigating local government activity. each year your county court, it's citizens just like you that serve as watchdogs over the government the jury has powers and local government is required to provide information the jury needs to conduct this investigation. the result of investigative reports can improve how local government does its job.

reports also form the public about the performance of their government. serving on a civil grand jury is not only an experience you'll never forget, but you'll also learn extraordinary amount about how your local government carries out its responsibilities. * i encourage you, encourage you to do your civic duty and hold your local government accountable by contacting the california grand jurors association to learn more about your county's civil grad jury and how you can apply to serve. (applause) >> i believe there are some presentations to be made. paul henderson, representing mayor ed lee's office. >> thank you, guys, having been here, it is an honor to be in front of the civil grand jury. i actually grew up with a lot of familiarity with the civil grand jury. i grew up here, fourth generation here in the bayview.

my grandmother who raised me after she finished college, she went to school late. after she finished college she served on the civil grand jury. and she told us as we were growing up, you can't get to it till after you go to college. i grew up thinking, oh, if i do enroll in school, i can go to college and i can get to the civil grand jury. i don't know why -- [laughter] >> did she carry the card for the civil grand jury with her in her purse actually until she passed. it was one of the things she was most proud of for working in the city. and, so, i've always paid special attention to what the civil grand jury did as like a magical entity that served and was committed to public service. unfortunately i've always worked in public service myself. i was never able to get to the civil grand jury, but i'm intimately familiar with the work that they do. so, we're all very grateful for your work and contributionses.

so, my name is paul henderson. i'm the deputy chief of staff for our mayor ed lee. we are here today and i am here today to present this certificate of honor to the san francisco civil grand jury association. and, so, i have a certificate here that i'd like to present and thank you all so much for the work that you've been doing and the contributions to the city. you know, people don't say it enough, but the work that you do actually does matter and the work that you do, people pay attention to. it creates changes that ripple all throughout our local government. so, i thank you all for your work and i look forward to working with you in the future. thank you. (applause) >> thank you.

and then [speaker not understood] representing state senator mark leno. >> good morning, everyone. and i'm here, as keith said, on behalf of state senator leno. and i just want to say how proud i am to be here because, you know, most of us seek ways to make government better. usually, you know, we have something that we don't like about our government, our local government. we want to change things. we have a disagreement. but you're here and you're actually doing something about it. you're taking your time, you're taking time out of your lives and putting energy into changing how government can serve the people of our county.

and that's very impressive and i for one as a citizen of san francisco am very grateful to each and every one of you for doing that. for watching out for me, because that's what you are, each and every one of you, watching out for me and my well-being as well as everyone else in the city. and around the state, thanks to the california civil grand jury association, we have 58 groups that do the same and help people experience government at a higher level and have government work for them. so, thanks to the california civil grand jury association for doing that, for making that work for us. and on behalf of state senator leno, i have the privilege of presenting the certificate of

recognition to the california civil grand jury association. and with our thanks and great appreciation. >> thank you so much. >> thank you. (applause) >> as absolved a group as we may be, we cannot forget that this gathering is primarily to recognize that we're all but citizens of this great state, and that we all bear some responsibility for our own governance. and, so, regardless of our political leaningses, we all are good government to be as responsive and effective and efficient as it possibly can be. and that is the role of our nearly 1 100 volunteers who serve each year in the 58 counties in california. * i didn't thank the governor on his way in.

so, i don't mean to pass on you. would you like to say a few words? >> no, thank you. i'm in politics after all. [laughter] >> thank you, chief. >> i do want to thank all of you very much for making it. thank you for your leadership and stewardship. thank you all so much for your hard work, paul, and for taking time or here. unlike the office of mayor said, it has budgets for certificates of honor. the lieutenant governor's office unfortunately did not. [laughter] >> [speaker not understood]. i do want to pick up on the theme and pick up on a little bit of what has been said already. i think it was justice brandeis who said it better than anyone. in democracy, the highest office is the office of citizen. and it's actually true. [speaker not understood] in

many ways, sometimes amateurs. we're limited in what i could best describe an age of amateurs. i say that in a very enlightened sense. they are getting small. small is getting big. hierarchy as we know it is [speaker not understood]. you think about the institutions that have served us so well over the last half century. they are dramatically changing. you see it certainly in media. you've seen it in the financial service industry now increasingly serving the music industry. and you see it in city government. you are a big participant in that dramatic evolution or what i would argue, the dramatic punctuation point in terms of the world we live in. i don't think it's cyclical. i think something dramatic is taking shape here as it relates to particularly the impact of technology is having on the world we're living in. we're living in a fish bowl. the whole idea of holding back information and keeping that information for those [speaker

not understood] those in power, those days are over. age of amateurs, big is getting small, small is getting big. this democracy of voices, new contours of a new society, truly i think is being shaped. and, so, you are a big part of that. and i hope the spirit of engagement, civil grand jurors across the state, is respected in that light. as a supervisor, i was a big champion of you. as a marry was a little more cautious because -- [laughter] >> [speaker not understood]. but increasingly, i hope people understand that the roilof a civil grand jury is not gotcha. it's not about taking shots, it's not about exposing people or systems. just for the purpose of